Manchester United never made an approach to sign either Toby Alderweireld or Danny Rose this summer

Manchester United reportedly made no attempts to sign either Toby Alderweireld or Danny Rose this summer, according to the Mirror.

The Premier League side, who take on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford tonight in the English top-flight, were linked with both Spurs stars during the transfer window.

Centre-back Alderweireld, 29, who has 83 international caps for Belgium, made his first competitive appearance for Tottenham this season after starting his side’s 3-1 league win against Fulham at Wembley Stadium last weekend.

Meanwhile left-back Rose, 28, who has 23 international caps for England, was named on the bench for the first time this campaign against Fulham, but he is yet to play under manager Mauricio Pochettino so far this term.

Despite being continuously linked with moves for the defenders this summer, the report claims United made no approaches for either player, as boss Jose Mourinho endured a frustrating transfer window.

Tottenham’s Danny Rose.

The ‘Special One’ failed to land any of his top defensive targets at The Theatre of Dreams, which included England and Leicester City’s Harry Maguire on his wishlist.

Belgian Alderweireld, who is valued at £45m, was seen as an alternative target to fellow centre-back Maguire, though neither defender ultimately made the move to Manchester before the August 9 deadline, nor did Rose, who is valued at around £50m.

In fact, it is understood it was Tottenham who approached United to ask whether they were interested in purchasing either Alderweireld or Rose.

A Spurs source explained, “There was never any interest from United in either Alderweireld or Rose.

“So it wasn’t a case of us refusing to sell either player to them — they never spoke to us.”

In the end, Manchester United only brought in three players this summer – right-back Diogo Dalot (FC Porto), midfielder Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk) and goalkeeper Lee Grant (Stoke City).

Written by Dan Church Follow @DJChurch94